In our leader in May, we highlighted the ethical dilemmas faced by the legal profession in the face of globalisation. Since then, share prices across the world have tumbled, fuelled by a crisis of confidence in corporate America, and the challenges faced by lawyers have arguably become more acute.
A number of legal practices that have developed over the years need to be re-evaluated. These include the drive among many of the largest international firms to liberalise the conflict of interest rules, the willingness of senior attorneys in private practice to sit on the boards of their firms’ clients and the practice of taking shares in clients in lieu of fees.
